Alea Iacta Est
by notnecessarilyinbetween
Summary: Emrys might mean immortal, but that doesn't mean that he is, it means that he has to be. Continuation of WtPA and RtH, but it can be read as a stand alone.
1. Chapter 1

This is a continuation of Walking the Path Alone, and Reaping the Harvest, but it can be read by itself.  
>Notes: Lancelot is alive, Arthur is king, Arthur and Gwen are not married, nor seem to be making any moves in that department. Arthur knows about Merlin's magic.<br>Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to BBC

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><p>Arthur wasn't ready; he had all the troops set up, genius plans of attack, and even his almighty Warlock by his side, but that didn't mean that anything would go as planned. in fact, something was going wrong right at that moment.<p>

"Merlin!" Arthur's voice echoed down the empty halls of his castle, making said man grimace.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Merlin waved his hand as he skidded into Arthur's room.

"You are the one who said you wanted to help me with my armor," Arthur was only a bit annoyed, he needed the normalcy of Merlin being late, he needed anything that would distract him from what he was about to do.

Merlin sensed his mood and a sad smile crossed his face, "Come on you prat, it won't take me that long to get this stuff on you, I'm actual really good at it by now!"

"You mean your magic is good at it," Arthur replied with the beginnings of a grin as he watched the pieces of armor begin to flit about and fit themselves to him.

"I am my magic you know, " Merlin said with a huff, " Where is Excalibur, don't tell me you lost it again!"

"I didn't lose it last time! It was in the corner where I left it!" Arthur replied, his face flushing a bit.

"Oh, you mean of that old dilapidated castle that you sent me back to to get you your sword," Merlin finished the last strap by hand and patted Arthur on his armored shoulder, "There we go, perfect!"

Arthur looked over to Merlin and his smile completely disappeared, "Merlin, I have a request."

Merlin straightened at Arthur's tone, and his gaze was level and strong.

"If I die, I want you to become chief advisor, I trust you the most out of every person in this castle. You can call yourself regent, or King if you want, or if you can find someone else who will be able to run my kingdom, then give them this," Arthur placed his signet ring into Merlin's hand, "and whatever you do don't let her win."

Merlin stared at the ring and looked back up at Arthur, " You are not going to die."

If it had been years ago, Arthur would have seen the glint of determination in Merlin's eye and smirked and joked about it, but now he knew just how loyal and powerful his friend was, and he would be lying if what had just been said did not make him feel even a little bit better.

"Well, they won't know what hit them when you show up, huh Merlin."

Arthur had found out around seven months ago that Merlin had magic, vast magic. It had been a bit annoying for the first few weeks because every day someone would come and ask him a completely ridiculous question. Merlin had been training Arthur and his knights about magic, and was happy to say that Arthur realized that if he met some kind of large magical creature, the best thing to do was to look menacing while Merlin destroyed it. A month after Arthur had found out, he had slowly started new rules to life the ban on magic, and now nearly all of the magic practitioners were free to live in Camelot and practice again. However, no one knew ( besides the knights and Arthur) who had been the one helping the King in his understanding of magic. No one knew that his manservant-turned advisor was the one responsible for the sudden bloom of crops, the sweet flowers and fruits, the beautiful weather, and many other strange phenomenon that just seemed to happen because Merlin was there.

"You and the druids are our biggest defense against Morgana and her army," Arthur left the room with Merlin stumbling after him. Merlin paused to call the old sidhe staff to him, then continued after Arthur, "You know you've said that every other minute right?"

"Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up"

The two's smiles faded as they walked out into the courtyard and mounted their horses. Arthur's closest knights, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Leon, and Lancelot pulled up their horses behind his and Merlin's. They left the citadel and preceded down to the battle grounds. The troops were all laid out, tents springing up closer to the town. The women and children had been hidden in the depths of the castle, but the most important part of this battle was their hidden weapons. Arthur scanned the trees and saw signs of activity, the druids were also ready. Arthur had been wary of using the normally peaceable people, but the druids had come to him saying that they would aid Emrys and the Once and Future King until the day they died.

As Arthur rode past, a rush went over the crowd, and the soldier, farmers, craftsmen, and druids began to gather their weapons and to walk to their horse if they owned one. One farmer walked straight over to the king's right hand man and Merlin nodded at Arthur to go talk to him.

"Arden, how are things down here?"

The man shifted on his feet, then looked Merlin straight in the eye, "Could be worse, boy, they are nervous enough but cause the great and mighty king has told them that we have the druids and the most powerful sorcerer of all time on our side, they are not to scared."

"It's warlock, " Merlin said with a lifted eyebrow, " and do you know where Gauis is?"

"That old man? He sent up a bunch of tents in the left back of the field, he's got a bunch of druids with him, and he is scaring everybody with his crazy orders!" The old man laughed as he delivered the last line, but it was hollow and harsh, showing a lot more then what he was saying.

"Gaius always has reason's for what he does," Merlin replied, then as he heard Arthur calling him, he turned his horse around and called back, " thank you Arden, see you at the end of all things!"

Arthur was standing before the entirety of the camp, and as Merlin came up to him he performed a spell so that everyone could hear Arthur speak.

"I have a very important announcement to make to you all, " Arthur's voice rang through every person's mind, and they all stiffened and looked up.

"Anyone who has magic, or is a sorcerer, besides the druids, will be lead by Merlin."

Gasps were heard throughout the crowd, but Merlin soon walked forward.

"I know you may be surprised, but I am a warlock, we have needed to keep this a secret, but now is the time when everyone needs to know who exactly is on their side."

"So, " Arthur continued, "I need all sorcerers to join with Merlin, follow his orders and know that I completely agree with whatever he tells you, we face an enemy that has once overpowered us, but this time we are prepared, this time we are not caught in the dark, and this time, we are not alone," Arthur ended his speech and turned towards his tent, wondering when the sun would rise and the battle would commence. Merlin walked beside him, the area he needed to go to to explain the plans to the sorcerers in the same direction.

"Merlin, what about the dragon?" Arthur looked over his shoulder at the quiet man behind him.

"He says that it might be best to see if we need him, because he does not want to cause panic amongst the people that have seen him before, but if we need him he will answer my call, " Merlin stumbled forward and grasped Arthur's arm, "Good luck, your highness." He bowed and began to walk away. A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him on the spot, "Good luck, Lord Emrys."

Merlin smiled as he turned around again and headed forwards towards the group of growing sorcerers.

...

It was less then an hour later when the sun began to rise, and banners were seen on the distant side of the plain.

"The war has begun," Arthur looked out and moved to the front of the columns of waiting men, " and this is one that I will not let us lose."

"Let's go then, prat," a voice rung through his mind, and he smiled as he lowered his visor. "Let's go."

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><p>Hope you enjoyed it, next chapter will come when it can; I'm a busy little beaver.~not necessarily in between<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the second chapter, Merlin doesn't belong to me~

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><p>Merlin strode out in front of the sorcerers and cleared his throat to make them look up to him, "Look, I know many of you still think of me as Arthur's manservant, but if we want to win this war I am going to have to ask you to do as I say. Now, how many of you have had practice in healing arts?" A couple of hands were raised, " Good, I want you to go to the physicians tent, even if you do know fighting arts, because good healers are few and far between. Next, who has more power in defense then offense?" More then three fourths of the rest of the hands were raised.<p>

" Okay, you who raised your hands are going to create a shield together to protect this entire encampment."

"That is impossible!" One of the voices shouted out, and others muttered behind him.

"It isn't if we all combine our powers together, and I back you up with my strength," was Merlin's quick reply. He turned to the few left who could do attacks, " You will also be behind the shield, but your attacks will go through, try to preserve your strength, use magic that has the biggest effect with the least amount of power used, I might suggest starting fires, they spook horses and no sane human wants to ride right into one."

"But, we can't burn the fields!" A youngish voice rang out, and Merlin turned to find one of the farmers he had made friends with was looking up at him, and Merlin smiled, "With all you know about me, do you really think that I would leave the fields to burn?"

The girl stopped and thought for a moment, before flashing a small smile and nodding her head.

"We will lead the first part of the defense, and when the time is right, the druids will come out of hiding to add their magics to ours," Merlin turned towards the low rumble as Morgana's army came closer and closer, "After me, _Gescildan__" _

_..._

Morgana had been looking out over the rest of her army as they thundered forward towards _her _castle. To say she was shocked to see a giant golden dome cover the entirety of the other army was an underestimate. She knew that Arthur had allowed magic back, but she knew that he was just using it to draw out all the magic users and then kill them when they thought they were safe. "Idiots," she hissed into the wind that whipped past her, and raised her hand into the air, "ATTACK!"

...

The two armies met. The charge met lanes of spears laid down to greet them, causing the first two lines of assault to fall, but with the loss of their spears the grizzly battle had begun. Swords met swords and the clangs echoed across the field. Arthur turned and took down one enemy after another. He could see the effects of the barrier Merlin had made as he noticed that the sorcerers who had stayed back on the other side found their magic to be of no effect. He smiled grimly as he took down yet another foe, and turned just in time to see Gwaine take down some kind of giant creature, "Having fun yet Queeny!"

Arthur just turned around and continued to fight his way towards his sister, his enemy. He did a quick over view of the battle field, and was happy to see that the lines were holding and Morgana's army was being pushed back. "NO, ARTHUR DUCK!" Merlin's voice rang through his head, causing him to jerk and fall off his horse. As he was tipping back he noticed an arrow slice through the air and fly past him, embedding itself in a peasants arm.

He was at a sever disadvantage without his horse, but in less then a second he was being pulled up by his arm, and spun around so his back was facing his best friends.

"MERLIN! What the hell are you doing, I know you are the main one holding up the shields," Arthur yelled as he thrust and parried while circling, Merlin always keeping up with the constant motion, "It's fine, I will probably sleep for days afterwords, anyway, I'm not letting you die, I put way to much effort into turning you into some kind of human." Merlin was blasting away at people near him, and suddenly turned around and shouted out into the sky, his eyes turning bright gold.

...

Morgana raised her head as she heard a cry of pure magic, so pure that it seemed to burrow itself deep into her soul. "Who can have that kind of power?" She urged her horse forward, but then staggered back when hundreds of druids streamed from the trees, surrounding her armies on all sides, and even circling around their back. They were completely surrounded. "My lady," one of the men near her shouted out before a blast of fire consumed him. She screamed in rage and cast her powers against the shield, but no matter how much magic she threw against it it would not break. "DAMN THEM!" was heard throughout the field.

...

"Merlin!" Arthur turned around to stop someone from skewering Merlin, who had stopped moving to try to catch his breath, "Are you suicidal?"

"Not trying to be," Merlin huffed out as his eyes glowed pure molten gold.

"Lord Emrys," a voice rang out through Merlin's head, " You may stop aiding with the shield, we have enough power to hold it by ourselves, it is time that you showed Le Fay what she is up against."

Merlin sighed and broke his connection with the shield, which at first wavered, but then stayed steady. Arthur smiled as he saw Merlin stand up straight, his eyes burning with a new light, and stepped back as Merlin took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

Dark storm clouds appeared in an instant, the rain pelting down upon the field. Thunder and lightning filled the air, and the very earth beneath their boots shook and shivered with anticipation. Lightning struck down upon their foes, and their earth formed spikes and craters which slowed down their opponents. Some men were swallowed into large abysses, whilst others found themselves captured in vines and they had tree limbs clinging to them. The wind blew harshly against their foes, but none of Emrys's allies were affected by the wash of power.

...

Morgana reeled as she felt that amazing power again, and backed away as the very forces of nature destroyed all she had worked for. She glared through the icy rain, and felt more then saw, where that pure force was coming from. She forced her horse onward and tried to traverse her way through the maze. The earth below her suddenly disappeared, and she tumbled off her horse as it fell down into some kind of bog. She screeched and moved onward, hair flying behind her and magic streaming out in pure malice. She stopped as she felt herself coming close to the center, and stopped in her tracks when she saw who was in the middle of the golden vortex.

"Merlin."

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><p>I hope you liked this chapter!<br>This next week is hell week for me, so I am not sure when I will find the time to write, but don't worry Merlin fans ( channels Bradley) I will try to keep up with the schedule I have set!

R&R please!~not necessarily in between


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Merlin doesn't belong to me

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><p>Merlin gasped as he stopped using his magic and his eyes became dull, Arthur rushed forward and grabbed him as he dropped to the ground.<p>

"Idiot, I told you to conserve your power!" Arthur shook him as to make him open his eyes.

"M'ne," Merlin mumbled, tucking in on himself trying to cover his violent shivers.

"What was that? Because if you said I'm fine, I will most definitely put you in the stocks," Arthur smirked as he looked up to the carnage around him, his eyes growing wide as he saw the utter devastation that his enemies had faced. He shut his eyes for one moment, allowing himself to revel in the utter exhaustion. Then he heard the scream.

...

How dare he! How dare that idiot lie to her! He had had magic! He was the reason why she could never win, he was her doom. Merlin was Emrys. She watched as Arthur hung his head, saw as his eyes slid shut, and she walked forward, his old present, the knife, clasped in her dirty and bloody hand. One swift motion was all it took before Merlin lay before her, eyes wide open, blood pouring out, an inhuman shriek bursting from his lungs. She stepped back and watched as Arthur's head shot up, as his eyes widened in disbelief, and as he slowly raised his head to meet her gaze.

The pain that she saw in her eyes made her proud, he should suffer as she had suffered.

...

It was impossible, Arthur looked up at Morgana, then back down to Merlin. Merlin who lay completly still. Merlin who wasn't' breathing. Arthur lowered his ear to Merlin's bloody chest, ignoring the fact that Morgana could kill him at any moment. He heard nothing. Merlin was dead.

"What have you done?" Arthur cried out, his fingers digging into Merlin's shoulder, "Don't you know who he is?"

"Oh I know, now," Morgana replied, a smirk twisting her face, " and now that he is dead I have nothing to fear."

"YOU DON'T GET IT!" Arthur yelled at her, placing Merlin on the ground, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut. "You just, you just killed Merlin." Arthur stared at her, before grabbing his sword from where he had left it stuck in the ground, and He moved forward to strike her down, watching as her eyes started to change, when a roar was heard over the field, and a humungous dragon landed behind Morgana.

"WITCH!" Kilgarrah growled as he knocked her to the ground with his claws. "YOU KNOW OF THE PROPHECIES, OR ARE YO COMPLETELY IGNORANT, YOU HAVE KILLED EMRYS, AND NOW ALL WILL FALL." As he said those last lines his eyes became filled with pain and desperation. He looked at the fallen warlock and Arthur followed his gaze. He stood back as he watched the grass that surrounded his friend blacken and crumble into dust. The patch spread over the hills, the air around Merlin was becoming filled with dust and fog.

"What?" Morgana crawled back, and Kilgarrah lowered his head until he was looking straight into her eyes, " You know that everything is filled with magic, it is the natural order. All life comes from and returns to magic. You have just killed the essence of magic itself. By killing Emrys you have destroyed all of this world."

Morgana gulped, and looked back to the fallen man, not noticing that the dead grass had reached her until a shiver rang through her body. She gasped and then screamed, and Arthur watched as some kind of golden light, her magic, streamed from her body. The dragon took off from the ground and flew farther away from it. "Be wary Pendragon, for this death will at first focus on simple powers, plants, and those who have raw magic within them, but soon it will spread until every form of life has been annihilated."

"Can't you do anything!" Arthur called back as he watched the dragon disappear, and he gasped as he looked back at Morgana, laying on the ground with tears streaming out of her eyes, her breath coming out in short gasps. He tried to move from the spot he was standing in, but soon found himself faint of breath. "The dragon said that it wouldn't affect human life yet!" Arthur fell to his knees, panting to try to get his lungs to work. He fell to the ground next to Merlin and as his eyes shut he remembered one of the first conversation he had had with Merlin after finding out who his friend really was. "I was born of magic..." Arthur realized as his brain slowly shut down.

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><p>Hello! Ok, I know this one is short, but the chapters will probably be shorter this week because of all the work I have. I will try to update when I can,<br>and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

R&R~ not necessarily in between!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi again, this is a quick update as I scrounge for wifi!

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><p>Merlin remembered a piercing pain that slammed through his chest, he sank down as he realized that his magic was exhausted, he was exhausted. "I'm sorry Arthur," he thought as he sank down into the sweet oblivion. As he fell he felt his power trying to save him, then felt as it began to turn against all his work. He struggled to come back, but it was useless. He was no more.<p>

The druids had starting backing away when they saw Emrys die, and even further when they saw the Once and Future King fall down beside him. With wide eyes and large retreating steps they kept repeating the same things. "Immortal, but he is Emrys, he is immortal, what has happened?"

Many of the druids had tears streaming down their faces, and those who were lagging behind soon alerted others that the corruption was closing in by their terrified screams. The peasants were in disarray, but the knights charged straight through them, straight into the middle of the chaos and slid to Arthur and Merlin.

Gwaine knelt next to Merlin, and Leon next to Arthur.

"He's still alive, but barely, we need to get him out of here!" Leon shouted, and hauled Arthur up and moved him away from his friend.

Gwaine sat in silence as he held Merlin's hand. It was cold and clammy, and even paler then Merlin normally was. But the saddest thing of all where his eyes, which undulated between bright and perky, full of life and tricks, and cold and dark, when he finally allowed his anger to be shown. Now they were blank. No expression, no interest in the new day, no thoughts for what prank to pull on Arthur next.

Gwaine felt someone grab his shoulder, and felt himself being pulled up off the ground.

"We have to leave him," Lancelot said, staring away from the body.

"I am not leaving him out here alone!" Gwaine snarled at Lancelot, who just sighed in response.

"Don't move him," came a quiet reply as Percival looked over at them, "It might make it easier for this death to spread."

Gwaine sat back down and nodded, his shadow falling over Merlin's face. With one hand, Gwaine closed Merlin's eyes, shuddering as his hand touched the cool flesh. Lancelot looked between where Gwaine sat and where Leon had gotten with the unresponsive body of his liege.

"I'll look after his highness," Percival stated as he began to walk away, and Lancelot smiled at him. He took his place next to Gwaine, but focused his eyes on the destruction that surrounded them. There was no grass, no flowers, and the trees were bare and rotting. The sky was dark with brown clouds, and many people littered the ground as they screamed in pain at the magic being torn from their bodies. Lancelot was shocked to see a familiar face come towards them, and watched as the head druid stumbled forward and stopped next to Merlin's body.

"This isn't allowed," he said in a wheezy voice, "Emrys is not allowed to die."

"There is nothing we can do now," Lancelot countered, " only Merlin has...had control over the cup of life, and you can't do anything without your power."

The old man sat next to Lancelot, " Emrys has died, Emrys can not die, so now we face the trial.

Lancelot looked over at the man and he continued, " we must take him to the Crystal Cave, for it was the beginning of all magic, and thus Emrys true birthplace, it may be able to contain the destruction that he is causing."

Gwaine nodded, having eavesdropped on the conversation, grabbed Merlin and slung him over his horse, wincing at the touch yet again, "Tell me where it is."

"You will not go alone, all of the druids will come, and you must bring the Once and Future King."

...

Arthur was awake, he was breathing, he was alive, but he was not living. He had not moved since he had first roused, he just stared at the ceiling above him and ignored Gaius pleading at him to take a tonic. "What was the point," was all he could think, "Everything will be finished soon, everyone will be gone." He closed his eyes for what felt like a second, but was suddenly roused by a thunderous knocking at the door. Lancelot entered, he walked over to the bed where Arthur lay, and laid a hand on his arm.

"Sire, we are going to take Merlin to the birthplace of magic, it may be able to save everyone, but from what I heard," Lancelot's voice broke here, " it is going to be his tomb. You must come, this may be you last chance to say good bye."

Arthur stared straight into Lancelot's eyes, breathed a deep breath, before nodding and sliding heavily out of the bed. Lancelot grabbed one of his arms and began to drag him to the door, when a large staff cut them off right in front of the door.

"You are not just going to take him you know, " Gaius said, holding a large staff in his hand.

"We have to this is the on-" Lancelot began but was cut off swiftly.

" If you take Arthur out like that, then he will die, have him hold this staff," Gaius handed the knobbed branch to Arthur, who when his hand fell on it, suddenly found himself being able to think much more clearly.

"What is this?" Arthur replied in a subdued voice.

"That was the boys first staff, he took it from the Sidhe, it is said to have power with life and death, and I trust that you will bring both it, and that boy back," Gaius smiled as he stepped back to watch them go out of the door

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><p>I will try to post another chapter this weekend, so please read and review~ not necessarily in between<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Merlin does not belong to me  
>Enjoy!<p>

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><p>Lancelot watched Arthur as the man looked around everywhere except for the cart that was trudging along before him. Even when Leon found out about the staff, he said the only way he would let Arthur go would be for him to stay a ways away from Merlin, but that is what now made Lancelot so worried. Arthur hadn't protested and had just moved towards the back, looking up at the sky as if it held something of interest, instead of the dark clouds that seemed to rain down death. Lancelot controlled his fear with a gulp, and went up to Gwaine to see how the man was faring.<p>

_Arthur looked out upon the battlefield, and watched as someone leaned over to look down at him. He wanted to say something anything, but he was so tired, so tired-_

_He was now standing next to the same man that he saw earlier, the man looked nervous but had a smile on his face, the Strong, Proud, Fierce man next to him was what he had hoped he would always be-_

Arthur blinked and stared back down at the staff he was now clutching. It gave off a faint sheen of magic, but Arthur blinked and it must have just been a mistake. "Probably one of the first things to go" he thought.

Merlin, those had been some of Merlin's memories, before he had... Arthur stopped that train of thought immediately, and then went back to trying to see what was above the clouds. There was something swirling in them, dark shapes that moved about, some seemingly pure black, and other full of energy. The only thing he could think of with those lights was the Darachea, but they were not screaming or giving off any kind of chill. His eyes began to glaze over again, and it must not have been two minutes later that Lancelot was before him with a worried look on his face.

"It is time, your Highness."

...

The druids stopped deep in the forest, and Arthur realized he had been there before, many years ago when he still had not known about Merlin's magic. Arthur watched as many of the druids drew back from a strange opening in the rock, and also as many lurched towards the wagon that carried Merlin. He moved forward as he saw them carefully take the body out of the wagon, but he did not look at it. He instead looked at the statues built into the cliffs, trying to block out the thought of everything. He was startled to find a hand on his shoulders, and looked into the eyes of Gwaine.

"You gotta look, your Highness, or I am just gonna start calling you Princess again," the man said, and for once Arthur made no comment about the strange brightness in his eyes.

Arthur turned and walked forward, watching as many of the druids fell to their knees with tears.

"He was more then a King to them, he was like their God," Arthur thought as he tried to move past them. He had not cried, and he knew he shouldn't he had to remain strong for his people. Yet every step he took made his eyes brighter and he forced his breath back into a normal pattern. He finally reached were Merlin was laying, and he shuddered as he looked down upon him. His face was relaxed, but not peaceful in the least, the wrinkles and lines of worry had started to seem to be a permanent part of his face, if anything, he still looked like he was in pain, pain from being stabbed, pain from lying, from hiding, from losing all off those whom he loved. He tried to back away but found himself struggling not to break down, to give up. He then heard a small voice whisper from the dust in the air, " Even in the face of Mortality, death will not dissuade me," he raised his eyes and searched around him, but his eyes only landed upon a Druid who had approached him.

"We must lay him to rest now," the man said in a rough voice, and Arthur nodded once as he began to walk back. He looked down at the staff that he somehow still had with him, and then rushed forward as the Druids began to carry his truest friend into the cave.

"Lay this next to him," Arthur commanded, and thrust the staff into the hands of one of the druids. Arthur felt himself weaken, but ignored it to watch as Merlin slowly disappeared from his sight. The druids soon came back up, and a suddenly movement caused the ground to quake, and Arthur could only watch as rocks fell down over the entrance to the cave, blocking it from every being able to be entered again. Arthur gulped, but then turned his back, not noticing the dampness that was falling freely down his face. He gasped as he walked back, not looking at anyone, and he soon disappeared from sight.

...

The knights watched as their King stumbled away, back in the direction of Camelot, but they knew he had to be alone, he had to express his grief, and the only person he had even been able to express it around was now gone. They watched as the druids seemed to say some spells, or maybe blessings, and as they walked away from the place, never looking behind them. Gwaine moved forward, and took of his cloak. He fumbled a bit to find a hold, but then placed his cloak over the entrance, before turning around and following the path Arthur had taken. All of the other knights bowed their heads, then moved on after him.

...

Unfortunately for the knights, Arthur had not gone back to the castle. He had closed his eyes and meandered about, lost in trying to contain himself. He must have sat down at some point, for when he opened his eyes next, he saw that the clouds that were hovering in the sky had all but disappeared, and the sun was glinting of early morning light. He looked around and saw that whatever the cave had done, it must have worked, for the ground was already budding with new life. Arthur clamped his hands into the earth and breathed, all of his memories of the day before flooding back into him. He jumped up, and found himself facing the Great Dragon.

"There are many things you never new about the young Warlock," the voice echoed through his head, " and many of them will be helpful to you in the future."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked, his voice cracking, " he told me all there was to tell!" ' and now there is no future anyway...' Arthur thought as he sunk back down.

"You have been prophesied since the beginning of time, young Pendragon, and I have no doubt Merlin told you all that he thought you needed to know, but let me give you one example," the dragon knelt and suddenly Arthur found his sword next to him.

"Excalibur? How?"

" You left it on the battle field, you must be more careful," Kilgarrah moved back up and stared into Arthur's eyes, "What does it say?"

"What?"

"There are runes on your sword, do you know what they mean?"

Arthur glanced over the sword and found his eyes tracing the strange symbols, " I-I don't know, I never thought to ask, aren't they just the spell?"

"They say, young Pendragon, 'Take me up, Cast me away'," the dragon smiled and suddenly his wings spread out, and Arthur didn't even have time to shout as the dragon flew away.

"But what does that even MEAN!" Arthur yelled at the now empty surroundings. He cringed as he felt something strange run into him, and then found himself once again outside of the cave where Merlin had been taken. He noticed a large cloak covering the entrance, and saw a stone that was directly under it.

Arthur stared at the cloak, then back to his hand.

"That is not a proper knight's funeral," he thought to himself, "they got the cloak correct, but they forgot the sword."

He walked forward and stood before the rock, trying not to remember when it had happened the opposite way, "take me up," he muttered as he raised the sword above his head, "CAST ME AWAY." He shoved the sword straight into the rock, and stepped back as it glowed pure gold.

A small voice whispered across his mind again, "Even in the face of mortality, death will not dissuade me. Even death, for those so close to heart; will never break too far apart. Take me up, cast me away, for the fight will last one other day."

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><p>I am very-very-very times infinity sorry, I got through tech-week, but then had to go across the country for the death of a family member, but now my schedule is back to normal-ish, so updates should go back into a timely-manner.<p>

Thank you for your patience, please read and review!~ not necessarily in between


	6. Chapter 6

See told ya, back on schedule!

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><p>Unfortunately for the knights, Arthur had not gone back to the castle. He had closed his eyes and meandered about, lost in trying to contain himself. He must have sat down at some point, for when he opened his eyes next, he saw that the clouds that were hovering in the sky had all but disappeared, and the sun was glinting of early morning light. He looked around and saw that whatever the cave had done, it must have worked, for the ground was already budding with new life. Arthur clamped his hands into the earth and breathed, all of his memories of the day before flooding back into him. He jumped up, and found himself facing the Great Dragon.<p>

"There are many things you never knew about the young Warlock," the voice echoed through his head, " and many of them will be helpful to you in the future."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked, his voice cracking, " he told me all there was to tell!" ' and now there is no future anyway...' Arthur thought as he sunk back down.

"You have been prophesied since the beginning of time, young Pendragon, and I have no doubt Merlin told you all that he thought you needed to know, but let me give you one example," the dragon knelt and suddenly Arthur found his sword next to him.

"Excalibur? How?"

" You left it on the battle field, you must be more careful," Kilgarrah moved back up and stared into Arthur's eyes, "What does it say?"

"What?"

"There are runes on your sword, do you know what they mean?"

Arthur glanced over the sword and found his eyes tracing the strange symbols, " I-I don't know, I never thought to ask, aren't they just the spell?"

"They say, young Pendragon, 'Take me up, Cast me away'," the dragon smiled and suddenly his wings spread out, and Arthur didn't even have time to shout as the dragon flew away.

"But what does that even MEAN!" Arthur yelled at the now empty surroundings. He cringed as he felt something strange run into him, and then found himself once again outside of the cave where Merlin had been taken. He noticed a large cloak covering the entrance, and saw a stone that was directly under it.

Arthur stared at the cloak, then back to his hand.

"That is not a proper knight's funeral," he thought to himself, "they got the cloak correct, but they forgot the sword."

He walked forward and stood before the rock, trying not to remember when it had happened the opposite way, "take me up," he muttered as he raised the sword above his head, "CAST ME AWAY." He shoved the sword straight into the rock, and stepped back as it glowed pure gold.

A small voice whispered across his mind again, "Even in the face of mortality, death will not dissuade me. Even death, for those so close to heart; will never break too far apart, take me up, cast me away, for the fight will last one other day."

...

Arthur moved back, placing his hands over his ears, and turned around trying to see if anyone was there, but no human was in sight. He felt a chill got through his spine, and slowly looked up. They were there again, the lights. From dark black to pure white, the lights swirled in some kind of pattern and moved back and forth, not touching each other or anything around them. They were in some kind of disjointed dance, which he was not a part of. Slowly, pairs came down at a time and rushed through the rock that hid his friend, then rushed out towards the sword in the stone. Arthur was frozen in place, watching the strange ball, and did not notice until he felt a presence right next to him that others had joined the dance. Beings of pure light cracked out of the trees, the light showing shadows and plants that seemed to uproot themselves and twirl in the strange light. He turned around and saw a flash of white, only to be spun around again to see the Unicorn staring at him. Another flash and a wyvern had appeared, keening and scraping at the rock. Water droplets were floating in the air, their cries adding into the commotion. Arthur stood in the middle of the crowd. If it had been a few years in the past, he would have felt threatened, and angry beyond belief, but now he was just confused.

The dance stopped as suddenly as it started, and, to Arthur's surprise, all of the beings turned to him. One of the strange lights flew down towards him, it's light so familiar. Arthur reached out and touched it then drew back as he drew a deep breathe of air, the heaviness he had felt since his life began to slip away eased.

"This is the magic," Arthur mumbled, and turned to look up once more to see all the different powers that where loose, but he was pulled away. The wyvern had grabbed his sleeve and pulled him towards the rocks, then moved around back and hit his knees so he fell to the ground in front of his sword.

"Wha-" Arthur began to explain as he found himself surrounded by so many magical creatures, and then looked up to see the Great Dragon in the air.

"The birthplace of magic," a light that went by whispered.

"the place of death"

"The future that shall come to pass"

"the past that was never true"

"What are you saying!" Arthur yelled at the magic, and tried to move away from it, but found himself stuck in the same position as before.

"We are willing to sacrifice all to bring him back," a small female voice spoke out, and Arthur turned to see the water drops next to a young girl with dark hair and eyes, a girl he had only heard of. "You- you are Freya..." Arthur looked over at the girl Merlin had loved, the girl he had murdered. Even after all this time, Merlin found it hard to talk about that girl, and that was one of the few things Arthur would never push to know about.

The girl smiled an nodded and put out her hand to gesture around at the water droplets, " yes, I am, an these are the Vilia."

"W- bring him back? How? He is dead... he can't... why is all of this happening?" Arthur was getting angry, nothing was making sense, and he was the King for goodness sake!

"You know my story, your Highness, and you know that I was bound to the Lake of Avalon," Freya continued, " I was dead, and yet, I live, we are asking if you are willing to do the same for Merlin."

Arthur looked at the girl, "You don't even need to ask, what must I do?"

Freya nodded, walked forward, and placed her hand on Excalibur, "This has already been burnished with the fire of a dragon, held in the Lake of Avalon, thrust into the stone of the earth, three of the four elements upon which all things must survive. It brings life to the one who wields it, and death to the ones against it. It is an object of pure magic and pure human work. We only need to have it blessed by the air and we will be able to save Merlin."

Arthur looked up as Freya gestured, and gasped as he saw small lights float down to rest beside the sword.

"We are the Sidhe," the blue lights spoke, and Arthur instantly thought of the staff that was closed behind the rock with Merlin.

"We give our blessing to the Once and Future King, to Emrys, and the world that they will create," all the blue lights spoke together, and with a flash of gold, they disappeared.

"King Arthur," Freya walked back, as did all the other creatures, " take up your sword."

Arthur found himself able to stand once again, and grasped the sword by the hilt, not noticing that everything behind him seemed to be filled with a quiet chant, a plea, a prayer. He pulled the sword up once again, and it rang as it scraped against the rock. The tip slid out and watched as gold poured out of the sword and as it engulfed him.

...

Merlin was nothing, he had no sense. What is Merlin? Yet, somehow, Merlin was drawing back together. The blackness was still there, as were the questions, but Merlin was brought back into existence. He-They-It felt something next to them giving off a similar feeling, that of warmth and cold. "Light and death," it thought to itself. A flash of light suddenly heightened its senses, until it soon realized that it was all one. Merlin felt the dagger leave his chest again, a sharp stinging sensation. He felt the burn of fire, the all-encompassing depth of water, the balance of the Earth, he felt things fade and grow, he felt magic in his veins, and at long last he felt a wisp of fresh air blow over his face. Suddenly he felt cold, so cold. He tried to move, to open his eyes, but he could not even move. What had first been a calming layer of black soon seemed as a clothe trying to smother him. He tried to thrash and move it, but when that was to no avail he called upon the one thing that could usually help him. His magic rushed forward and with a single touch the blackness was gone. He stared up to find himself outside, on the ground, staring up at many strange faces that he never thought he would see again, however, the one he wanted to see the most was not there. "G-h-rh" he tried to speak, but found it hard, he coughed and felt himself being propped forward, "Kilgarrah, Arthur is Art-" He began to cough again and turned to see who was helping him up, "Freya?"

"Arthur Pendragon is fine, Merlin," Kilgarrah said, and if Merlin was thinking straight, he was certain he wouldn't think that Kilgarrah's voice sounded broken up.

"He is just sleeping now, the magic has major effects on someone like him," Freya nodded and let go of Merlin when she was certain he could right himself, and moved her head so that Merlin would look to his left, to see the King sleeping soundly on the ground, his mouth hanging open.

Merlin snorted a little, then looked back up to Kilgarrah, "What did you do?"

Kilgarrah looked down at the young warlock and closed his eyes, "We made you immortal."

"What! How!" Merlin looked around at the other magical beings, and was surprised to notice that they were beginning to back away and disappear into the forest.

"It is almost the same as what happened to me," Freya still knelt next to Merlin, " I am bound with the Lake of Avalon and shall live forever, you are bound to Excalibur."

"But it is different," Kilgarrah broke in, " for you can continue to live your human life. Excalibur holds not only your power, but all of the powers that you have used, and you shall live as long as the sword survives."

"Wait a minute, you mean whenever Arthur is off chopping people's head off he is doing it with my soul!" Merlin jumped up and was surprised to see that he could stay on his feet, " and what happens when it breaks!"

Kilgarrah looked at him for a moment, and then started to laugh, " Merlin, all though your soul is bound to the sword, it is only bound to the magic it carries, and the sword can not break, as I burnished it," Kilgarrah looked a little smug at those last words.

"Though there has been a bit of a trade," Freya whispered, and Merlin whipped around, knowing that trades of the Old Religion always came with a price.

"Don't worry, it is not as bad as you may thing," Kilgarrah seemed to read his mind and quickly continued, " the Crystal Cave had been sealed, its powers hidden forever, and the staff of the Sidhe over life and death has been locked inside."

"But what does that mean?"

"No other person in this world shall ever be able to use their powers to influence the powers of life and death, the cup of life will work for none, none shall be resurrected or brought back, except by the one who inherently holds that power."

"Let me guess who that is," Merlin said with a small smile.

"We must leave now, Merlin, for this magic has taken much out of us," Freya nodded and disappeared into the mist. Kilgarrah gave Merlin one more of those strange smug looks before he took flight. Merlin looked down at Arthur, who was shivering in his sleep, and mumbled fondly, "You prat."

...

Arthur woke to a roaring fire, and a smell of fresh meat. He struggled to open his eyes, but when he did he was up in an instant. "MERLIN!" He cried seeing his friend very much alive watching as some kind of stew was cooking. Merlin stood up right after Arthur's shriek, and yelled out "ARTHUR!" and then started laughing at the confused look on Arthur's face. Arthur felt a grin immediately slide into place, and walked over to where his annoying, useless, idiotic, brilliant, most trusted companion still laughed. "You idiot," Arthur grabbed Merlin and hugged him.

Merlin was speechless, but soon gave a quick hug back, "Don't think you will get rid of me that quickly!" Arthur laughed and sat, trying to calm down. While he was eating, he would look every once and a while, just to make sure Merlin was there. He noticed on the last few glances that Merlin was looking more and more worried.

"Merlin?" Arthur left he question hanging in the air, and Merlin suddenly nodded and faced Arthur.

"Arthur, you know what you did right?"

Arthur gulped, had it been wrong of him? "I brought you back."

"Yes," Merlin added quickly, " and I thank you for that... but... I am just worried, that, well using Excalibur..." Merlin trailed off, and Arthur began to wonder if he really had done something wrong.

Merlin put down his food, the bowls that he must have magicked to the site clinking against the spoons. He turned to look up straight into Arthur's face, "What I mean to say is... Please don't lose it again," a grin spread out as Arthur growled and lunged forward.

" I DIDN'T LOSE IT."

"Whatever you say sire, I am just saying it would be a bad thing if you left it ly-"

"I HAVEN'T DONE THAT."

"Well, we all make mistakes!"

"MERLIN."

"Prat."

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><p>FWABAM! Look at that! Anyway, please read and review, no the story is not over yet, it probs has one more chapter and then a epilogue!~not necessarily in between!<p> 


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